Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Biochemical comparison of lectins among three different color strains of the red alga Kappaphycus alvarezii

  • Original Article
  • Chemistry and Biochemistry
  • Published:
Fisheries Science Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The red alga Kappaphycus alvarezii is economically important as an edible species and as a source of carrageenan, and has been extensively cultivated in many tropical countries. For this species, different color strains, which differ from each another in growth rate and carrageenan content, have been reported for decades. In this study, lectins from brown, red, and green strains of K. alvarezii cultivated in Vietnam were isolated and characterized for evaluation of their biochemical properties and contents. The results showed that each color strain contained in common the three lectins, named KAA-1, KAA-2, and KAA-3, which shared the hapten-inhibition profile of hemagglutination, 20 N-terminal amino acid sequence, and equivalent molecular mass within a range of 28,016 ± 1.2 to 28,021 ± 1.8 Da, but differed in their yields, with the highest yield of KAA-2. These properties of the three isolectins were also comparable among the three different color strains. However, the sum of the yields of the three isolectins decreased in the order: red (21.4 mg) to green (15.9 mg) to brown strains (15.1 mg), from 500 g fresh alga. Thus, this algal species can be a good source of useful lectins, irrespective of color strain.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Minko T (2004) Drug targeting to the colon with lectins and neoglycoconjugates. Adv Drug Deliv Rev 56:491–509

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. De Mejia EG, Prisecaru VI (2005) Lectins as bioactive plant proteins: a potential in cancer treatment. Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr 45:425–445

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. Balzarini J (2006) Inhibition of HIV entry by carbohydrate-binding proteins. Antiviral Res 71:237–247

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Boyd MR, Gustafson KR, Mcmahon JB, Shoemaker RH, O’Keefe BR, Mori T, Gulakowski RJ, Wu L, Rivera MI, Laurencot CM, Currens MJ, Cardellina IIJH, Buckheit JrRW, Nara PL, Pannell LK, Sowder IIRC, Henderson LE (1997) Discovery of cyanovirin-N, a novel human immunodeficiency virus inactivating protein that binds viral surface envelope glycoprotein gp120: potential applications to microbicide development. Antimicrob Agents Chemother 41:1521–1530

    Google Scholar 

  5. Mori T, O’Keefe BR, Sowder RCII, Bringans S, Gardella RS, Berg S, Cochran P, Turpin JA, Buckheit RW Jr, McMahon JB, Boyd MR (2005) Isolation and characterization of griffithsin, a novel HIV-inactivating protein, from the red alga Griffithsia sp. J Biol Chem 280:9345–9353

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Hori K, Sato Y, Ito K, Fujiwara Y, Iwamoto Y, Makino H, Kawakubo A (2007) Strict specificity for high-mannose type N-glycans and primary structure of a red alga Eucheuma serra lectin. Glycobiology 17:479–491

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Sato Y, Okuyama S, Hori K (2007) Primary structure and carbohydrate-binding specificity of a potent anti-HIV lectin isolated from the filamentous cyanobacterium, Oscillatoria agardhii. J Biol Chem 282:11021–11029

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Kawakubo A, Makino H, Ohnishi J, Hirohara H, Hori K (1997) The marine red alga Eucheuma serra J Agardh, a high yielding source of two isolectins. J Appl Phycol 9:331–338

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Kawakubo A, Makino H, Ohnishi J, Hirohara H, Hori K (1999) Occurrence of highly yielded lectins homologous within the genus Eucheuma. J Appl Phycol 11:149–156

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Sugawara T, Ohama Y, Fukuda A, Hayashi M, Kato K (2001) The cytotoxic effect of Eucheuma serra agglutinin (ESA) on cancer cells and its application to molecular probe for drug delivery system using lipid vesicles. Cytotechnology 36:93–99

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Liao WR, Lin JY, Shieh WY, Jeng WL, Huang R (2003) Antibiotic activity of lectins from marine algae against marine vibrios. J Ind Microbiol Biotechnol 30:433–439

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Ask EI, Batibasaga A, Zertuche-Gonzalez JA, De San M (2003) Three decades of Kappaphycus alvarezii (Rhodophyta) introduction to non-endemic locations. In: Chapman ARO, Anderson RJ, Vreeland VJ, Davison IR (eds) Proceedings of the 17th international seaweed symposium. Oxford University Press, Oxford, pp 49–57

  13. Ohno M, Nang HQ, Hirase S (1996) Cultivation and carrageenan yield and quality of Kappaphycus alvarezii in the waters of Vietnam. J Appl Phycol 8:431–437

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  14. McHugh DJ (2006) The seaweed industry in the Pacific islands. ACIAR Working Paper No. 61

  15. Doty MS (1985) Eucheuma alvarezii sp. nov. (Gigartinales, Rhodophyta) from Malaysia. In: Abbott IA, Norris JN (eds) Taxonomy of Economic Seaweeds. California Sea Grant College, University of California, La Jolla, pp 37–62

  16. Hurtado-Ponce AQ, Agbayani RF, Sanares R, Castro-Mallare MTR (2001) The seasonality and economic feasibility of cultivating Kappaphycus alvarezii in Panagatan Cays, Caluya, Antique Philippines. Aquaculture 199:295–310

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. Munoz J, Freile-Pelegrín Y, Robledo D (2004) Mariculture of Kappaphycus alvarezii (Rhodophyta, Solieriaceae) color strains in tropical waters of Yucatán, México. Aquaculture 239:161–177

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. Wakibia JG, Bolton JJ, Keats DW, Raitt LM (2006) Factors influencing the growth rates of three commercial eucheumoids at coastal sites in southern Kenya. J Appl Phycol 18:565–573

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. Hayashi L, Paula EJD, Chow F (2007) Growth rate and carrageenan analyses in four strains of Kappaphycus alvarezii (Rhodophyta, Gigartinales) farmed in the subtropical waters of São Paulo State, Brazil. J Appl Phycol 19:393–399

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  20. Hung LD, Hori K, Nang HQ (2008) Screening and preliminary characterization of hemagglutinins in Vietnamese marine algae. J Appl Phycol. doi:10.1007/s10811-008-9330-8.

  21. Hung LD, Hori K, Nang HQ, Kha T, Hoa LT (2008) Seasonal changes in growth rate, carrageenan yield and lectin content in the red alga Kappaphycus alvarezii cultivated in Camranh Bay, Vietnam. J Appl Phycol. doi:10.1007/s10811-008-9360-2

  22. Lowry OH, Rosebrough NJ, Farr AL, Randall RJ (1951) Protein measurement with the Folin phenol reagent. J Biol Chem 193:265–275

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  23. Laemmli UK (1970) Cleavage of structural proteins during the assembly of the head of bacteriophage T4. Nature 227:680–685

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  24. Hori K, Miyazawa K, Ito K (1986) Preliminary characterization of agglutinins from seven marine algal species. Nippon Suisan Gakkaishi 52:323–331

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

We thank Dr. Haruaki Iefuji and his staff for analyses of the N-terminal amino acid sequences of isolated lectins. We are grateful to the staff of the Laboratory of Marine Bioresource Chemistry, Hiroshima University for providing expert technical assistance, and to the staff of Nhatrang Institute of Technology Research and Application Vietnam for collections and identification of algal samples. This work was supported in part by the JSPS-RONPAKU Program, Japan, and by a Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B) from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Graduate School of Biosphere Science, Hiroshima University, 1-4-4 Kagamiyama, Higashi-Hiroshima, 739-8528, Japan

    Hung Dinh Le, Tomomi Sato, Hiromi Shibata & Kanji Hori

  2. Nhatrang Institute of Technology Research and Application, 2-Hungvuong Street, Nhatrang, Khanhhoa, Vietnam

    Hung Dinh Le

Authors
  1. Hung Dinh Le
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Tomomi Sato
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Hiromi Shibata
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Kanji Hori
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Kanji Hori.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Le, H.D., Sato, T., Shibata, H. et al. Biochemical comparison of lectins among three different color strains of the red alga Kappaphycus alvarezii . Fish Sci 75, 723–730 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12562-009-0088-y

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12562-009-0088-y

Keywords

Search

Navigation